A maximum entropy perspective of Pena’s synthetic indicators

Abstract

This paper uses mixed combinatorial-cum-real particle swarm method to obtain a heuristically optimal order in which the constituent variables can be arranged so as to yield some generalized maximum entropy synthetic indicators that represent the constituent variables in the best information-theoretic sense. It may help resolve the arbitrariness and indeterminacy of Pena’s method of construction of a synthetic indicator which at present is very sensitive to the order in which the constituent variables (whose linear aggregation yields the synthetic indicator) are arranged.

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